Letter: Responsible gun limits are needed

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Responsible gun limits needed

An armed citizenry is not a “well regulated militia.”

Case #1: A troubled teen at Pitchford Boys Ranch steals a pickup and takes a friend for a ride. The pickup owner shoots the youth and reclaims his property. Justice is done. The News-Review reports this death on the second page. No further action is reported.

Case #2: A teenage boy who just finished his “hunting gun training” shows off his new skills to a sibling. The gun misfires and he dies.

Case #3: An intruder enters the bedroom of an adult male who has a pistol in his nightstand. The intruder is shot. The lights come on and the male’s four-year old daughter says, “Daddy, I love you,” before she dies.

The first two cases were Douglas County teens. The third is apocryphal, but widely reported.

The pediatric community in this country has long argued that parents must be responsible for their children’s safety: safe gun storage, trigger locks and separation of guns from ammunition.

The National Rifle Association has refused to support gun safety regulations. Child access prevention laws were submitted to the Oregon legislature in the ’90s and were defeated.

I submit that the NRA is wrong. Guns do kill. Death by homicide, accidents, and suicide are much higher in households with guns.

I resent the bullying practices of the NRA. How presumptive they are to hand out “report cards” to legislators based on their Second Amendment voting history! Do they sway elections with their financial support?

The responsible limitations on assault weapons and background checks is a sound beginning to address the horrendous loss of life due to weapons that our culture tolerates.